The Hard Road To Rescue
by The-Rogue-Phoenix
Summary: Once again a Princess is in peril. With Mario stumped, it's up to Luigi to prove himself. Many twists, turns and secrets await Luigi and his band of misfits along the way. Someone say adventure?
1. Prologue

The hard road to rescue

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters you will see in this fic. Nintendo owns them, I am just merely borrowing them.

Summery: Starting all over again is hard, winning people over is harder. Once again Bowser kidnaps a Princess and bids to take over the Mushroom Kingdom. Twists and turns make the rescue hard.

Prologue.

Deep in the heart of the Darkland, King of the Koopas sat contemplating his latest scheme. The flame haired reptile King sat looking at his map of the world. He raised his claw to his chin, lost in thought. He was on the verge of finalizing the plans in his head when a sharp sudden knock at the door woke him from his concentration.

'What?' He bellowed.

A tiny Koopa Troopa was flung into the room, as soon as he caught his leaders eyes he began to tremble.

'I beg your forgiveness oh great Bowser! I come with news,' he squeaked.

King Bowser glared at the tiny Koopa, he loved feeling the great immense surge of power that he got just by looking at the look of sheer terror on the Koopas face.

'Go on then,' Bowser said impatiently.

'The troops are ready to snatch the Princess, everything is in place,'

'Excellent. You have done well,' Bowser chuckled, he made eye contact with the trembling Koopa

'T-thank you, I live to serve you,

'You have served me well, now I have no use for you,' The reptile King whispered in a low growl.

'M-Master?'

Bowser took a sharp intake of breath, the Koopa didn't have time to run away before a large breath of fire swept over his helpless body.

A loud blood curdling shriek sounded through the night.


	2. Chapter 1: Help!

Okay, for anyone actually reading this I know I may have messed around with the Marioverse timeline and have probably mixed up a few stories but I needed to to create this story. Besides Nintendo changes Mario's story so often that it wont hurt if I do it lol So please don't yell at me for it just sit back, chill and take this story for what it is... a made up story from the imagination of a nutcase ;)

Chapter 1: Help.

More than half a world away from the Darklands was a Kingdom ruled by a kind hearted and sweet spirited Princess. This happy place was known as the Mushroom Kingdom. Toads, Koopa's, Bob-ombs and humans alike all resided peacefully alongside each other. The Kingdom was famous for it's beautiful Princess and was possible even more famous for it's incompetent Toad Guard.

Many years ago the evil tyrant King Bowser Koopa crept into the Mushroom Kingdom castle in the middle of the night and stole away the Princess. No one noticed a thing, no one was there to rescue and protect the fair Princess from the evil King's clutches. The Guard's were too cowardly to keep a proper eye out for attack and when they found the Princess gone the next morning the whole castle fell into disarray.

The Guards blamed themselves, they failed in their duties. How were they ever going to get back their Princess? However fates smiled upon the Princess and her Guards. Two heroes were pulled from another world and thrown into the ever changing landscape of the Magic Kingdom.

Two humble plumbers arrived and agreed to help the Princess. It took weeks to battle through various lands crawling with enemies sent to do King Bowser's bidding. Eventually, battered and bruised they reached the Darklands castle. Slowly they infiltrated it and had an almighty battle with the reptile leader. Somehow against all odds they won, sending Bowser crashing into the lava.

The two heroic plumbers found the Princess in the tallest tower, her hands covering her face. She was sobbing. They pushed the door open and she let out a startled cry. The older of the two plumbers caught her eye. For a few silent moments the two gazed at each other before the younger man spoke.

'Princess Peach?' The Princess nodded, wiping her last tear.

The older man stepped forward, holding out his hand.

'Hello, your royal highness. I am Mario Mario and this is my brother Luigi,'

'Well Mario, I believe my Kingdom is in your debt.

From then on the Mario brothers resided in the Mushroom Kingdom, where slowly they learned about their true heritage. As babies they were born in the Mushroom Kingdom, early on their mother knew they were special. Bowser saw this too and threatened their lives, in fear their Mother sent them away to another world where they would grow up safely.

Mario and Luigi returned to the Mushroom Kingdom, saved the Princess and became heroes. The Kingdom rejoiced and they became known as the Super Mario Bros. Over the years they got to make many friends and discovered lost family. Life was good for the most part, unfortunately Bowser still lived on and still tried on many occasion to kidnap Princess Peach.

This brings us to the very beginning of this new adventure.

Princess Peach's castle was buzzing with activity, the castle guards were running around left, right and center. In the throne room Princess Peach sat with her long serving steward, Toadsworth. In front of them stood the Mario brothers, who were deep in conversation. The atmosphere in the castle was very tense and every time an unexpected noise happened everyone jumped.

'Mario, how long are we going to wait? We could be here forever and it could all be for nothing?' Luigi asked. They'd been waiting half a day for any sign of attack.

'Yes I know but until I know Peach is safe I'm going to stay right here,' Mario responded,

Suddenly the large doors leading into the throne room flung open and a tiny Toad dashed into the building. The panic on the Toads face caused the room to break out into loud conversation.

'Ahem! Quiet I say!' Bellowed Toadsworth. The room hushed up.

'Mario, Mario! It's about to happen!' The Toad squealed.

'Tell me everything Toadie, what did you find out?'

'Our intelligence suggests they're on their way! We heard them say "'The troops are ready to snatch the Princess, everything is in place," We must do something!' Toadie said almost on the verge of tears.

So given the information provided by Toadie, the Mario Bros and guards waited for Bowsers attack. It never came.

Miles away in another Kingdom, a brunette Princess was pacing in her bedroom. She stopped pacing to look in the mirror. With a deep sigh she ran her fingers through her hair.

'It's just not fair! Peach gets to have royal balls in her Honor and all I get is a street party,' She sighed.

'She has it so much better then me, she gets to go on adventures and rules a Kingdom. She has Mario and I? Urgh. No one,'

She picked up a photo of her and her cousin Peach. The blond Princess certainly was popular. She had a bigger Kingdom, a boyfriend who'd do anything for her and a lot of friends. She often had thoughts like this, when she was alone she often dwelled on her jealous thoughts. She didn't want to feel this way but sometimes it would just slip out.

'I wish I could get kidnapped and have some excitement,' she sighed to herself as she placed the photo down, 'I need some excitement in my life!', She didn't really want to get kidnapped, they were just hollow words.

'Daisy?' Came a deep sounding voice from behind her door. Daisy turned around from the mirror.

'Father?' Daisy was uncertain, it hadn't sounded like her father.

'You should be careful what you wish for, Princess,' Came the deep voice.

There was an explosion as the door was knocked off it's hinges. Daisy screamed and tried to hide, however she wasn't quick enough. The smoke from the blast lifted and she stood face to face with the intruder.

'Bowser!'

'I wish I could get kidnapped,' Bowser said in a mock baby voice.

'Leave me alone!'

'I'm here to grant your wish, I'm here to kidnap you, ha ha ha' Bowser cackled.

Before Daisy could try and make an escape Bowser reached out and grabbed her by her hair. Yelping in pain Daisy tried to free herself. As the pair struggled they knocked over her mirror resulting in an Almighty crash.

'Let...' Bowser put his hand over her mouth and the other around her waist. She was light and easy to sweep off the floor.

'Kammy, you useless witch. Get the Koopa clown copter!'

In a matter of seconds Bowser's accomplice Kammy had pulled up alongside Daisy's window in Bowsers menacing Koopa copter. He seized Daisy and jumped in.

It was hours before the guards of Sarasaland noticed the disappearance of their Princess.


	3. Chapter 2: Taken

Chapter 2:

The King of Sarasaland was taking a walk around the grounds of his castle, the sun was just starting to set yet it was still warm. He often liked to take walks when he had things on his mind and at the minute he had a lot of things swimming around that head of his.

His daughter Daisy had been constantly on his mind recently. He loved his daughter dearly but at the minute she was being very difficult. It was good for the King that he had someone to talk to and as he walked through the gardens he chatted with his trusted adviser Esme.

'I just don't know what to do with her,' the King sighed.

'Perhaps you should give her more responsibilities?' Esme suggested. The King shook his head in disagreement.

'I get the feeling she doesn't even want to be a princess anymore, she would rather go out and take part in them silly Mario events like karting or soccer,'

'Princess Peach manages it quite well,' Esme stated matter of factly.

'Yes, well I want more for my daughter. Peach was brought up by that old nut

Toadsworth, she hasn't had proper guidance. My daughter has me. Ever since my beautiful Zinnia past on she's only had me to rely on,'

'Ahem!'

'Well, yes you too Esme, I suppose your the closest thing to a mother figure' the King corrected himself.

'Well if she wants to go off gallivanting then perhaps you should stop her money and make her work for her keep?'

'Well I know one thing, I am going to put a stop to her visits to the Mushroom Kingdom. The folk she fraternizes with over there,' the King said quite sternly. Esme shook her head, the King always refused to believe that Daisy was often the cause of her own problems.

Before Esme could argue against this, one of the Sarasaland guards ran over to the King.

'Your highness, come quick!'

'Whats wrong?' The King asked, worry creeping into his voice.

'It's Daisy, she's gone,'

The King, Esme and the guard ran to Daisy's room to find it empty with the mirror on the floor in pieces.

'What's happened to my little girl?' The King whispered as he bent down to pick up pieces of the broken mirror.

'Perhaps she ran away?' The guard suggested meekly. He secretly hoped this was the case because if not then he might be at fault in the Kings eyes. The Sarasaland guards weren't as incompetent as the Mushroom Kingdom guards and as captain of the guards his reputation was at stake.

'Well, did you see her run past you?' Esme asked sceptically.

'Um, gee. No,' responded a very sheepish guard.

'She couldn't have escaped via the window, it's far too high,' Esme pondered.

'Kidnap it is then...' The guard sadly concluded. There goes his pay rise.

'I want the whole of the Kingdom searched for my daughter! Leave no stone unturned!' The King commanded. The captain of the guards arranged for his men to start right away, she couldn't have gone that far, surely?

Little did the King know that Daisy was in-fact no longer in Sarasaland. The Koopa copter was well away from the scene of the crime. Kammy looked at the tear stained princess and cackled, finally a plan was working. More importantly it was a plan she had concocted herself. None of Bowser's bumbling schemes were involved this time.

'We're still sticking to my plan aren't we?' Kammy asked. Bowser turned round and smiled a crooked smile at her.

'No,'

'W-What? My plan is perfect, nothing can go wrong!' She shrieked, rage building up inside her.

'My latest idea is far better,' he informed her with a wink. Daisy listened carefully trying to figure out what the plan was going to be.

Over in the Mushroom Kingdom news of Daisys disappearance spread. Mario felt sick to his stomach, all this time they were getting information on the goings on at Bowser's castle they just assumed Bowser's target was Peach. Peach started to cry for her cousin, she knew all to well what it was like to be held hostage and she feared for Daisy.

'I'm going to have to go and get her back!' Luigi said out of the blue. Mario and Peach both looked at him.

'You?' Mario said laughing.

Toadsworth joined them, he had been on the phone to Esme.

'Yes me! You save Peach, well it's my turn now,' Luigi said indignantly.

'Yes but you're not exactly very brave are you? Perhaps you should leave it to Mario, he is the expert' Peach replied.

Luigi glared at her, Peach said nothing else.

'She didn't mean it like that bro, but I do agree that I should be the one to go,'

'Ahem! Masters Mario and Luigi, I've just conversed with Esme and there's no reason to suggest Bowser, he has never ever been seen in Sarasaland,' Toadsworth informed them. Both Mario brothers shook their heads in disagreement.

'It's gotta be Bowser! Who else could it be? There's nothing else for it, I'm going,'

'Fine then I'm coming!'

'No Luigi, you stay!'

'I'm coming!'

'No, you'll just be a hindrance!'

Mario and Luigi argued for good half hour before Luigi gave up and agreed to stay behind.

'Fine, play the hero!' With that Luigi stormed off, angry at Mario for not believing in him. Mario went to follow him but Peach stopped him.

'He'll be fine, leave him be. Getting Daisy back is most important,'

With a final kiss on Peach's cheek the heroic plumber left to rescue his friend.

Over the years Mario had been to Bowser's keep many a time and knew all the shortcuts. He had got it down to a week to get to the Darklands but this time it was different. There were no enemies to fight and Mario couldn't believe his luck. Where were they all?

He was at the entrance to Bowsers castle in just under a day, he waited to be attacked but the onslaught never came. Scratching his head in confusion Mario entered the castle. No one was around and it had Mario on edge.

Mario stepped forward and headed down a dark corridor, he knew where he was going, he'd been here before. It was eerie to only hear his own footsteps. He expected a random Boo to pop out but they never came. This was too easy and Mario was starting to worry.

He headed towards a large red door. In front of him was the large arena where Mario and Bowser had had many a battle. This time was different though, there was no sign of Bowser.

Suddenly out of no where the large red door slammed behind him making Mario jump.

'Ha! Well look who is it, if it isn't my old mate Mr Plumb Scum!' Came Bowsers booming voice from somewhere inside the arena. Mario looked around for the body to go with the voice.

'Bowser you coward! Come out and show yourself!'

'No, lets play a little game first...' Bowser cackled.

'I don't have time for your ridiculous games, now where's Daisy?' Mario shouted back.

'Daisy? Don't know what you mean,' Came the sneering reply.

'You took her! Giver her back or else!'

'Why don't you look around, she isn't here!' Bowser yelled 'Why would I want her when I want that delicious Peach?' He laughed.

Bowser stepped out from where he was hiding and smiled wickedly at Mario.

'You know what I like about you Mario? Your willingness to always be the hero. I'm glad you wandered into my castle so freely. Now your here I can take over the Mushroom Kingdom! Bwahaha!'

Bowser inhaled an enormous amount of air and aimed a Burst of fire at Mario. Mario was quite fast when he needs to be and managed to dive out the way. Before Bowser could attack again Mario jumped on his head knocking him out. Convinced that Bowser hadn't actually got Daisy he headed back to the Mushroom Kingdom with a heavy heart.


	4. Chapter 3: Starting Out

Chapter 3

It had been a good ten minutes after Mario had left his castle, leaving him lying there in a battered heap. As King Bowser pulled himself to his feet he couldn't suppress a cruel laughter. Kammy, his faithful accomplice ran to his aid.

'Your awfulness, why do you laugh? Mario beat you again!' Bowser looked down at her and smirked.

'Because Kammy, my hideous witch friend, Mario is no longer a threat to us,'

'But... he escaped! He's always going to be a threat!' Kammy said fearfully, Bowser had yet to best Mario at anything.

'Escape he did, true. But he no longer thinks we have Daisy, he'll pay us no more attention. Rather then goad and fight him, this time we'll go about my plot without him knowing,' Bowser explained. Kammy nodded her head. For once Bowser showed a bit of logic.

Meanwhile a worried Peach waited in her throne room for news of Mario and Daisy. It felt odd not to be the Princess in danger and she wasn't exactly sure of what to do with herself.

'Your Highness! Your Highness!' A blue and white spotted Toad shouted as he dashed over to where she sat.

'Fun Gi! What news? Is it Mario?'

'He's back, but there's no sign of Daisy,' Fun Gi cried. Before Peach could ask any more questions a deflated Mario walked into the room. Peach ran over and flung her arms around her hero.

'I'm sorry Peach...'

'Where's Daisy?' Peach asked, concerned for her friend.

'I don't know, Bowser doesn't have her,' Mario sighed. Mario began to tell his story to an expanding crowd, he explained how he fought Bowser but Daisy was no where to be seen.

'What do we do now?' Peach asked. Mario had never failed before.

'Well, we don't sit around and do nothing,' Came a voice from behind them. They all spun round to face...

'Luigi! I'm so sorry,' Mario apologized. Luigi shook his head.

'You can't win every time Bro! If Bowser hasn't got her, someone else has. I'm going to find her if it's the last thing I do!'

'Okay, let's get our gear together and we can head off in about half an hour,' Mario planned but Luigi put his hand up.

'No, I'm doing this alone. You had your turn and I need to prove to Daisy that I too am capable of rescuing a Princess,'

'But Luigi...' Mario interjected.

'How would you feel if I rescued your girlfriend Mario? If you were to rescue Daisy I'd feel useless,' Luigi pleaded.

'Fine, be careful though, yeah?' Mario conceded. The brothers hugged before Luigi set off on his new adventure.

'Do you think he'll be alright?' Peach asked staring at the door that Luigi had previously excited through.

'Well he did okay at the mansion, but to be sure I'm going to follow him and if he gets into trouble I'll be there,' Mario said before he too made his exit.

As soon as Luigi stepped out of the castle gates and into the sunshine, he took a deep breath. He felt the adrenaline course though his body as he thought about the adventure ahead. But where to go first? The Darklands was crossed off the list, Bowser didn't have Daisy. He stood scratching his head.

'Ahem'

Luigi saw no one around him.

'AHEM!' Luigi felt someone stamp on his foot and he glanced down in pain as a small blue and white Toad.

'Fun Gi? What are you doing?'

'You seem lost Luigi, I can tell you don't go on adventures very often,' The small Toad said smiling. Luigi sighed, he was right. He hadn't even left the Castle properly and he was stumped. Perhaps Mario should have come after all.

'As I thought, well for a start you should think about getting provisions and weapons from Toadette's General Store,' Fun Gi said helpfully. Luigi slapped his head in frustration. Provisions and weapons were obvious. So with a very enthusiastic Fun Gi following him they headed over to Toadettes.

Mario watched as Luigi already begin to struggle. He wondered how long it would be before he needed to step in.

Luigi and Fun Gi reached Toadettes, upon entering a small bell chimed letting the Shopkeeper know someone had entered.

'Aha! Fine sirs, what can I do for you?' A small hefty looking Toad asked.

'Umm...' Luigi started to think about what he would need.

'Well hows about some fire flowers and shells for combat, oh and some herbs for poisons, mushrooms for health?' Fun Gi asked the shopkeeper, who diligently brought the listed items out to them.

'How'd you know about all this stuff?' Luigi asked Fun Gi. Fun Gi shrugged his shoulders and explained that he had read all about Mario's adventures and that he wished to become an adventurer himself one day.

They both bid farewell to the shopkeeper and left the shop.

'I guess this is goodbye and good luck then?' Fun Gi said looking up at Luigi, who in return looked at his new found friend.

'Why don't you tag along?'

'Really? That would be awesome,' Fun Gi cried excitedly.

'Yeah, sure why not. I mean Mario had help once or twice,'

'YES! Okay, so where now then?' The excited Toad asked. Luigi scratched his head. Where would they go? Then it hit him, it was so obvious.

'Sarasaland, we need to visit the scene of the... um... crime?' He finished lamely. Fun Gi agreed that this was a good a plan as any so off they went.

Fun Gi lead Luigi through Toad Town to where a tall green pipe stood. The pipe was surrounded beautiful daisies that swayed in the gentle breeze.

'This will lead us to Sarasaland?' Luigi asked, wondering how they were going to warp through the pipe when it was too tall for them.

'Yes, Princess Peach had it put in when they started holding regular Mario Parties. There should be an invisible block around here somewhere,' Fun Gi added the last part more for himself. For about five minutes the pair searched for the invisible block. It started to see completely hopeless when Luigi innocently turned around and his face smashed straight into something hard.  
>'Oh You found it!' Fun Gi shouted as he jumped onto it and into the warp pipe. Luigi rubbed his face and followed suit.<p>

As they exited the warp pipe the warm Sarasaland sunshine hit them in the face. They put their arms over their eyes and waited for their eyesight to adjust. The moment they were able to see properly they came face to face with the Sarasaland home guard, ten angry faces pointing their swords at them. Fun Gi yelped and ducked behind Luigi. How were they going to get out of this?


End file.
